U.S. patent number 11,293,541 [Application Number 16/576,373] was granted by the patent office on 2022-04-05 for transmission and method for producing such a transmission.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Flender GmbH. The grantee listed for this patent is FLENDER GMBH. Invention is credited to Jennifer Papies.
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United States Patent |
11,293,541 |
Papies |
April 5, 2022 |
Transmission and method for producing such a transmission
Abstract
A transmission includes a housing made from a metallic material
and is provided with a cooling structure in the form of a cooling
element made from open-cell metal foam. The cooling element can be
secured on the housing, in particular on an outer surface of the
housing, by a screw connection and/or adhesive bonding and/or
magnetically.
Inventors: |
Papies; Jennifer (Bochum,
DE) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
FLENDER GMBH |
Bocholt |
N/A |
DE |
|
|
Assignee: |
Flender GmbH (Bocholt,
DE)
|
Family
ID: |
1000006221060 |
Appl.
No.: |
16/576,373 |
Filed: |
September 19, 2019 |
Prior Publication Data
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|
|
Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20200096088 A1 |
Mar 26, 2020 |
|
Foreign Application Priority Data
|
|
|
|
|
Sep 20, 2018 [EP] |
|
|
18195645 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B32B
15/20 (20130101); B32B 7/12 (20130101); F16H
57/0419 (20130101); B32B 15/046 (20130101); F16H
57/032 (20130101); B32B 2266/06 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B32B
15/20 (20060101); F16H 57/04 (20100101); B32B
7/12 (20060101); B32B 15/04 (20060101); F16H
57/032 (20120101) |
Field of
Search: |
;428/613 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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|
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|
|
10034301 |
|
Jan 2002 |
|
DE |
|
102010007413 |
|
Oct 2010 |
|
DE |
|
102010007413 |
|
Oct 2010 |
|
DE |
|
1 993 135 |
|
Nov 2008 |
|
EP |
|
2411703 |
|
Jun 2013 |
|
EP |
|
2008251652 |
|
Oct 2008 |
|
JP |
|
2009253053 |
|
Oct 2009 |
|
JP |
|
2010040583 |
|
Feb 2010 |
|
JP |
|
2011100959 |
|
May 2011 |
|
JP |
|
2012159173 |
|
Aug 2012 |
|
JP |
|
5790531 |
|
Aug 2015 |
|
JP |
|
WO 2008146845 |
|
Dec 2008 |
|
WO |
|
Other References
Kaufmann et al., DE 102010007413 A1 machine translation, Oct. 2010,
entire machine translation (Year: 2010). cited by examiner.
|
Primary Examiner: Sheikh; Humera N.
Assistant Examiner: Christy; Katherine A
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Henry M. Feiereisen LLC
Claims
What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters
Patent is set forth in the appended claims and includes equivalents
of the elements recited therein:
1. A transmission, comprising a housing made from a metallic
material and including a cooling structure, said cooling structure
including a plurality of cooling elements made from open-cell metal
foam and individually and separately secured on an outer surface of
the housing, and an intermediate layer containing silicone and
thermally conductive particles provided between each of the
plurality of cooling elements and the housing, wherein each of the
plurality of cooling elements has an underside shape that matches a
shape of a region of the outer surface of the housing to which each
of the plurality of cooling elements is individually and separately
secured, and a desired cooling capacity of the transmission is
adjusted based on a choice of number, shapes, and location of the
plurality of cooling elements.
2. The transmission of claim 1, wherein the plurality of cooling
elements are made of aluminum or copper.
3. The transmission of claim 1, wherein the plurality of cooling
elements have a plate-shaped configuration.
4. The transmission of claim 1, wherein the plurality of cooling
elements are secured on the housing by a screw connection and/or
adhesive bonding.
5. The transmission of claim 1, wherein the plurality of cooling
elements are secured on the housing by a magnet.
6. A method for producing a transmission, said method comprising
individually and separately securing on an outer surface of a
housing made from a metallic material a plurality of cooling
elements each having an underside shape that matches a shape of a
region of the outer surface of the housing to which each of the
plurality of cooling elements is individually and separately
secured and made from open-cell metal foam to provide a cooling
structure on the housing, providing an intermediate layer
containing silicone and thermally conductive particles between each
of the plurality of cooling elements and the housing, and adjusting
a desired cooling capacity of the transmission based on a choice of
number, shapes, and positions of the plurality of cooling
elements.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the plurality of cooling elements
are secured on the housing by a screw connection and/or adhesive
bonding and/or magnetically.
8. The transmission of claim 1, wherein the housing is produced by
casting and the outer surface of the housing is uneven and the
intermediate layer compensates for irregularities in the outer
surface.
9. The transmission of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of
cooling elements is spaced apart on the outer surface of the
housing.
10. The transmission of claim 1, wherein the underside shape of
each of the plurality of cooling elements is in the form of a
circular ring segment that matches a circular ring segment shape of
the region of the outer surface of the housing to which each of the
plurality of cooling elements is individually secured.
11. The method of claim 6, wherein the housing is produced by
casting and the outer surface of the housing is uneven and the
intermediate layer compensates for irregularities in the outer
surface.
12. The method of claim 6, wherein each of the plurality of cooling
elements is spaced apart on the outer surface of the housing.
13. The method of claim 6, wherein the underside shape of each of
the plurality of cooling elements is in the form of a circular ring
segment that matches a circular ring segment shape of the region of
the outer surface of the housing to which each of the plurality of
cooling elements is individually secured.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the priority of European Patent
Application, Serial No. 18195645.9, filed Sep. 20, 2018, pursuant
to 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), the disclosure of which is incorporated
herein by reference in its entirety as if fully set forth
herein.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a transmission and to a method for
producing such a transmission.
The following discussion of related art is provided to assist the
reader in understanding the advantages of the invention, and is not
to be construed as an admission that this related art is prior art
to this invention.
A crucial factor in the transmission engineering sector involves
dissipation of heat, generated in the transmission, from the
transmission housing so as to ensure proper operation of the
transmission for an extended period. For this purpose, the
transmission can be provided with an active cooling device. As an
alternative or in addition, a passive cooling system can be
provided by increasing a housing surface area through the provision
of cooling structures in the form of cooling fins, for example.
However, housings with such cooling fins become very expensive when
compared with housings without cooling fins. Moreover, the
formation of cooling fins is associated with a relatively large
increase in the dead weight of the housing, which is undesirable in
many cases.
It would therefore be desirable and advantageous to provide an
improved transmission which obviates prior art shortcomings and
which can be produced in a simple and low-cost manner while still
being reliable in operation and enabling flexible adjustment of the
cooling capacity to suit any demand.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to one aspect of the present invention, a transmission
includes a housing made from a metallic material and including a
cooling structure, the cooling structure including a cooling
element made from open-cell metal foam and secured on the
housing.
According to another advantageous feature of the present invention,
the cooling element can be secured on an outer surface of the
housing.
In the following description, the reference to "a cooling element"
should not be limited to the presence of a single cooling element
but is used in a generic sense and the principles described in the
following description with respect to a cooling element are equally
applicable to the presence of any number of such cooling
elements.
A significant advantage of providing cooling elements made from
open-cell metal foam over conventional cooling fins resides in a
significantly larger surface area and improved cooling capacity
associated therewith. Moreover, such cooling elements made from
open-cell metal foam have a lower dead weight than cooling fins, so
that the housing of a transmission according to the invention can
be made lighter than a housing with cooling fins while still
maintaining a comparable cooling capacity. Another advantage
associated with the use of separate cooling elements made from
open-cell metal foam is that the cooling elements can be secured
later on to suit a demand at hand, for example a housing
manufactured by casting. This allows simple and flexible adjustment
of the cooling capacity to the demand at hand. In particular, such
retrofitting of cooling elements makes it possible to achieve a
wide range of cooling capacities on the basis of a standard
housing, and this allows low-cost series manufacture when housings
of essentially same design with different cooling capacity are
required.
According to another advantageous feature of the present invention,
the cooling element can be made of aluminum or copper. Using
aluminum and copper has the benefits of good thermal conductivity,
while at the same time being of low weight.
According to another advantageous feature of the present invention,
the cooling element can have a plate-shaped configuration. This
allows simple and flexible handling. For example, the shape of the
underside can be matched to the shape of a region of the outer
surface of the housing. Thus, the cooling element can have an
underside in the form of a circular ring segment to enable its
simple securement on a housing, the outer surface of which is
likewise in the form of a circular ring segment, at least in one
region thereof.
According to another advantageous feature of the present invention,
an intermediate layer containing silicone and thermally conductive
particles can be provided between the cooling element and the
housing. This is advantageous especially when the surface of the
housing on which the cooling element is to be arranged is uneven,
as is often the case when the housing is produced by casting, for
example.
According to another advantageous feature of the present invention,
the cooling element can be secured on the housing by a screw
connection and/or adhesive bonding. This allows very simple
mounting of the cooling element on the housing. As an alternative
or in addition, the cooling element can be secured on the housing
by a magnet.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for
producing a transmission includes securing on a housing made from a
metallic material a cooling element made from open-cell metal foam
to provide a cooling structure on the housing.
According to another advantageous feature of the present invention,
an intermediate layer containing silicone and thermally conductive
particles can be provided between the cooling element and the
housing. As a result, irregularities in the housing surface in
particular can be compensated.
According to another advantageous feature of the present invention,
the cooling element can be secured on the housing by a screw
connection and/or adhesive bonding and/or magnetically.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
Other features and advantages of the present invention will be more
readily apparent upon reading the following description of
currently preferred exemplified embodiments of the invention with
reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a transmission according
to present invention, depicting the presence of cooling elements
arranged thereon, and
FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross section of the transmission of FIG. 1,
taken along a section line II-II in FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Throughout all the figures, same or corresponding elements may
generally be indicated by same reference numerals. These depicted
embodiments are to be understood as illustrative of the invention
and not as limiting in any way. It should also be understood that
the figures are not necessarily to scale and that the embodiments
may be illustrated by graphic symbols, phantom lines, diagrammatic
representations and fragmentary views. In certain instances,
details which are not necessary for an understanding of the present
invention or which render other details difficult to perceive may
have been omitted.
Turning now to the drawing, and in particular to FIG. 1, there is
shown a schematic perspective view of a transmission according to
present invention, generally designated by reference numeral 1. In
the non-limiting example shown here, the transmission 1 is embodied
as a spur gear transmission configured as a bevel-and-spur gear
train. However, it will be understood that the principles described
in the following description with respect to the transmission 1 are
equally applicable to any other type of transmission and the
specific type of transmission is of no significance for the present
invention.
The transmission 1 has a housing 2, which is divided into a housing
top part 2a and a housing bottom part 2b. In the present case, the
housing top part 2a and the housing bottom part 2b are of
symmetrical construction and can be cast in a same die, although
this is not obligatory. The transmission 1 furthermore includes an
input shaft 3, via which the driving power enters the transmission
1, and an output shaft 4, which can be connected to a system (not
illustrated), e.g. a conveyor belt system. Cooling structures in
the form of a plurality of cooling elements 5 are arranged on the
outside of the housing 2, with each cooling element 5 being made
from open-cell metal foam and secured as a separate component on
the housing 2. In the present case, each of the cooling elements 5
has a plate-shaped configuration and is manufactured from
aluminum.
Provided between each of the cooling elements 5 and the housing 2
is an intermediate layer 6 which contains silicone and thermally
conductive particles and is generally referred to as a "gap
filler". By way of example, the cooling elements 5 are secured here
on the housing 2 using screws 7. As an alternative or in addition,
however, the cooling elements 5 can also be secured by adhesive
bonding and/or using magnets. In the latter case, the cooling
elements 5, of course, must be provided with corresponding magnets,
which are not illustrated here.
To produce the housing illustrated hi MG. 1, the transmission 1 is
assembled hi known manner in a first step. In a further step, the
separate cooling elements 5 are then positioned and secured on an
outer surface of the housing 2. Here, the number and position of
the individual cooling elements 5 can be chosen according to a
desired cooling capacity. In order to ensure good thermal coupling
of the cooling elements 5 to the housing 2, despite the presence of
uneven outer surface of the housing 2 produced by casting, an
intermediate layer 6 which compensates irregularities in the outer
surface of the housing 2 is positioned between each of the cooling
elements 5 and the housing 2.
A significant advantage of a transmission 1 according to the
present invention over a conventional transmission of same
construction but provided with cooling fins is that the
transmission 1 according to the present invention has a lower dead
weight as a result of the use of cooling structures in the form of
one or more cooling elements 5. Moreover, the production of the
housing 2 or of the housing top and bottom parts 2a, 2b by casting
is significantly cheaper due to the absence of cooling fins.
Another advantage relates to the cooling capacity of the
transmission 1, which cooling capacity is realized by the presence
of cooling elements 5 and can be adjusted in a manner which is
flexible and best suited to the demand at hand through suitable
choice of shape, number and position of the cooling elements 5.
Thus, it is also possible to provide transmissions of same
construction with different cooling capacities using housings 2 of
the same construction, so that series manufacture becomes much
easier.
Although the invention has been illustrated and described more
specifically in detail by means of a preferred illustrative
embodiment, the invention is not restricted by the examples
disclosed, and other variations can be derived by a person skilled
in the art without departing in any way from the spirit and scope
of the present invention. Thus, the cooling elements 5 can have a
configuration that differs from a plate shape. It is also possible
for the underside of the cooling elements 5 to be matched to a
shape of the housing outer surface. The embodiments were chosen and
described in order to explain the principles of the invention and
practical application to thereby enable a person skilled in the art
to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various
modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.
* * * * *